This invention relates to weft-knitted fabrics and more particularly to double-knit fabrics in which elastic yarn is present in a stretched condition in the face and back stitches of preselected areas of the fabric.
The elastic properties of spandex yarns enable manufacturers to produce a wide variety of fabrics ranging from foundation fabrics with outstanding holding power and figure control to outerwear, sportswear and underwear fabrics with excellent dimensional recovery providing ideal fit and comfort at all levels of body extension.
In making elastic, double-knit fabrics, it is customary for the elastic yarn to be knitted in the back stitches of the fabric to reduce "grin through" and to make economical use of the elastic yarn. In the present invention, in addition to the back stitches, the elastic yarn is also selectively incorporated into face stitches, or front wales of a double-knit fabric producing fabric relief patterns without departing from the basic double-knit construction.
This enables one to produce double-knit fabrics in which selected face stitches assume a more compact appearance or to produce fabrics with large areas of compact stitches in which the contraction of this area distorts the normal wale/course configuration to give curved courses maintaining relatively flat fabrics. In addition, double-knit fabrics can be produced in which certain areas are raised from the general fabric plane through the contracting action of the other areas.
The fabrics prepared by this invention are knit on either flat or circular machines with two needle beds capable of knitting with a double stitch giving double thickness to the fabric, hence the term double-knit. When referring to sweater construction the term rib-knit is used rather than the term double-knit. At least one of the beds has the capability of selectively knitting. At least two inelastic yarns are knit separately into a double-knit or rib-knit jacquard pattern. Spandex is knit with at least one of the inelastic yarns and at least one of the inelastic yarns is knit alone. The pattern is chosen so that the inelastic yarn being knit with the spandex is present in some face stitches and absent from others.